'La Barbie' in-law pleads guilty

Updated 7:26 am, Thursday, July 18, 2013

Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as "La Barbie," for his light hair and eyes, a former Beltrán Leyva hit man and operative. A U.S. citizen born in Laredo, he was arrested in Mexico in August 2010.

Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as "La Barbie," for his light hair and eyes, a former Beltrán Leyva hit man and operative. A U.S. citizen born in Laredo, he was arrested in Mexico in August 2010.

Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA, File Photo

'La Barbie' in-law pleads guilty

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A relative by marriage of the Texas-born drug trafficker known as “La Barbie” has pleaded guilty to drug-trafficking charges in an Atlanta federal court.

Juan Montemayor, 47, pleaded guilty this week to three drug-possession and conspiracy counts. He faces up to life in prison.

Montemayor's brother, Carlos, 39, is the father-in-law of Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal, also 39, the former Laredo high school football player who rose to prominence when he was arrested in Mexico in 2010 and accused of being a cartel leader.

Prosecutors in Atlanta in 2009 accused the brothers and Valdez Villarreal of taking part in a drug-smuggling conspiracy that sent cocaine to the Atlanta area from 2004-06. Juan Montemayor “served as the primary contact for one of the organization's more significant customers located in Atlanta,” according to his plea agreement.

Montemayor's customers were regional drug distributors purchasing large quantities of cocaine, said John Horn, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Valdez Villarreal was considered a lieutenant in the now largely defunct Beltrán Leyva cartel. When his boss, Arturo Beltrén Leyva, was killed by Mexican marines in 2009, Valdez Villarreal became embroiled in a power struggle for control of the cartel. “Based on the amount of Mexican cartel activity in Atlanta, we prosecuted a number of cases that had direct ties to larger Mexican cartels,” Horn said. “But certainly this one is significant in the direct ties to the Beltran Leyva (organization), and ultimately, the Valdez Villarreal trafficking organization.”

Carlos Montemayor and Valdez Villarreal are in custody in Mexico, and the U.S. has requested their extradition.